1.Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automotive oil gauge that replaces a conventional dipstick and provides a continuous visual readout of the oil level in a crankcase on a visual gauge in an automotive passenger compartment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has always been a problem for drivers of automotive vehicles to be made aware of excessive oil usage in an automotive crankcase. Long distances can sometimes be traveled in an automotive vehicle before its driver realizes a low oil level, this often causing damage to the vehicle engine with costly repairs necessary as a result. The most commonly employed technique for checking the level of oil in a crankcase requires one to open the hood over the automotive engine and to check the oil level as shown on a dipstick which must be manually removed from the spout of an oil reservoir. More sophisticated methods are available, but they are generally complex and expensive to manufacture so as to be impractical, or they merely measure oil pressure and do not indicate when smaller quantities of oil should be added to the reservoir. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,564,535 issued to Davis Dec. 8, 1925 describes an oil gauge which may be manipulated for observation of the oil level from a point on the outer side of a running board shield, consisting of a pivotally mounted spout, means for moving the spout on its pivotal support, consisting of a pivotally connected rod, a hand grip, and a spring for maintaining the rod in position, with the oil gauge mounted directly into the wall of an oil reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,648 issued to Kelly July 23, 1957 illustrates a liquid level indicating device for indicating the oil level in the crankcase of an internal combustion engine and consisting of complicated electrical circuits, switches, bulbs, a plurality of chambers each having a moveable wall, an oil pump for circulating oil under pressure, and other complicated mechanisms. U.S. Pat. No. 1,583,941 issued to Swiggart ET. AL. May 11, 1926 illustrates an oil level indicator comprising a valve casing having a conduit therethrough and a port, a valve mounted with a standpipe, a collar tightened in place with a nut, and other components. U.S. Pat. No. 2,043,877 issued to Ashworth June 9, 1936 shows an oil level indicator to replace the conventional dipstick, but which is connected to a compressible bulb within the vehicle passenger compartment by means of a flexible tubular member for determining the oil level in a crankcase by means of suction. Consequently, it can be readily seen that there is no simple and effective means available for determining the level of oil in an automotive crankcase by means of a visual gauge within an automotive passenger compartment. There is, then, an obvious need in the marketplace for an inexpensive to manufacture and easily installable oil gauge, which may be incorporated into an automotive vehicle during the production process or easily added to a vehicle after manufacture, so as to enable a vehicle driver to readily and visually determine the need to add oil to an automotive crankcase without opening the hood over the vehicle engine.